British diplomats hear Transdniester's side from Parliament, civil society

Face to face: In Tiraspol, British diplomats (left) meet with lawmakers from Pridnestrovie in the PMR Parliament's briefing room

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Officially, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland doesn't support the independence of Transdniester yet, preferring instead to keep the "de facto" independent state inside Moldova against the will of the vast majority of the population.

But political differences didn't stop British Ambassador John Mitchell from meeting with Speaker of Parliament Yevgeny Shevchuk and other elected leaders from Pridnestrovie on Friday for frank discussions which both sides said were fresh and positive.

Meetings took place in Tiraspol on Friday at both the PMR Parliament and in the headquarters of Breakthrough ("Proriv", in Russian), a leading civil society youth group which also recently met with local OSCE-head Louis O'Neill and American Ambassador Michael Kirby.

In the course of the meeting at Parliament, opposition politician and Parliamentary Speaker Yevgeny Shevchuk outlined Transdniester's view of current relations with Moldova and the unresolved territorial conflict between the two sides.

As in any official visit, diplomatic protocol determined the placement of the flags of each party to the meeting on the table between them.

" - The policy of economic pressure and restrictions and regular unilateral non-observance of previous agreements, in particular the 1997 Memorandum, agreements on mutual recognition of documents didn’t create a favorable atmosphere for negotiations," Shevchuk told the British delegation, reported the PMR Parliament's press service.

Informed about situation in Pridnestrovie

" - It was our first chance to meet the Speaker of Parliament and we think this meeting is very useful for our work," said the British Head of the Mission John Mitchell after the meeting. "We were informed about the situation in Pridnestrovie and we expressed our views”.

Shevchuk told the diplomats about the social and economic situation in the unrecognized country, including an overview of stabilization measures that have been undertaken by the legislature in the face of both the recent drought and the economic blockade which Moldova initiated against Pridnestrovie in 2006.

After the official visit with PMR's Parliament, the smiling British diplomats met with "Breakthrough", a large civil society youth group.

After leaving Parliament, the British delegation met with civil society youth group "Breakthrough" at the organization's Tiraspol office.

Here, they explained why Kosovo in their opinion deserves independence but why Transdniester (Pridnestrovie) shouldn't have the same right. In a conflict between the two conflicting principles of territorial integrity and the right to self-determination, the territorial integrity principle always carries more weight except when the right to self-determination does.

Civil society hears contradictions

In an apparent contradiction of Great Britain's own experience with the self-determination of the people of the United States of America in 1776, John Mitchell explained that the right to self-determination requires the consent to independence not just of the people who want independence but also of the metropolitan state.

" - International practice treats the right to self-determination as a right which must not only have the support of its own population, but also the population of that part of the state from which the new country wants to achieve its independence," Mitchell tried to tell the youth.

In the opinion of Great Britain, Pridnestrovie's unilateral declaration of independence has no validity, nor does the will of the people of Pridnestrovie unless Moldova's government agrees first.

" - But this doesn't make sense," says Petru Gladchi, a human rights activist in Tiraspol. "Because according to this argument, the United States wouldn't be independent. At the time, the government of Great Britain certainly didn't agree to the unilateral American declaration of independence. So if we follow the argument to its logical conclusion, the British Foreign Office still believes that America belongs to them. Is self-determination a basic human right? Or does self-determination requires the permission of someone else who, history shows, will most likely never give it?"

Breakthrough-organizer Dmitri Soin nevertheless lauded the British delegation for its willingness to discuss the issues openly and honestly. He also wanted to Chisinau to follow London's example and give freedom to countries that want it.

" - Great Britain is an ideal example for Moldova, since this is a country which in its time was a great empire. The sun never said on the British empire, in different corners of the world. But over the course of history, the British Colonies obtained independence, and afterwards preserved excellent connections with the old metropolitan state," said Soin.

" - However, today's Moldova can not yet come to grips with the fact of what has already happened a long time ago: Its total loss of any authority and influence over the territory of Pridnestrovie," he added.

Britain recognizes that Moldova has no sovereignty over Pridnestrovie. The country is also aware of the desire of the population for their own independent state, and their overwhelming unwillingness to be part of Moldova. On its official website, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office states that "Transnistria is not under Moldovan government control and seeks independence."

See also:
» U.S. Ambassador visits Tiraspol to urge fresh talks between Moldova and PMR
» American ambassador's Tiraspol visit seen as public diplomacy win